Retour
The Philadelphia 76ers were able to earn a tough 109-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday to earn themselves a Halloween treat. The Sixers were on the second night of a back-to-back and had to end the game on a furious 15-3 run to steal one from the Hornets, but Philadelphia once again showed a ton of resiliency in order to finish the job and stay in the win column.
Tyrese Maxey had 38 points for the Sixers on the night. Anfernee Simons added 19 points, Jaylen Brown had 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists, and VJ Edgecombe added 10 and eight rebounds. Jabari Walker returned from injury and had 12 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Here are the three biggest takeaways for the Sixers following the win:
When Hornets wing Grayson Allen drilled his seventh triple to give the Hornets a 101-94 lead with 3:41 left, it felt like the dagger. The Sixers, missing Joel Embiid and LeBron James in this contest, seemed like they were done for, but once again, Philadelphia dug deep and ended the game on the aforementioned 15-3 run to finish off the win and improve to 6-1 on the season. The Sixers were fantastic on the defensive end as they locked the Hornets down the rest of the way and then found a rhythm on the offensive end. Obviously, Edgecombe once again knocked down a clutch 3-pointer late to seal as it as he shook off what was an overall rough game for him on the offensive end.
After missing three games due to a left knee issue, Walker stepped in and produced some big numbers off the bench. The fact that the Sixers were able to receive that type of production from the big man was huge for Philadelphia's bench unit on a night, especially in the frontcourt, when Embiid couldn't play. He made a big difference on the glass, his defensive work was important in this one, and he knocked down some big shots in the second half to give the Sixers some much-needed production. He absolutely should be considered a legitimate option to earn real rotation minutes for this group.
Again, Wade didn't have a huge offensive night. He only scored four points and missed all three of the 3-pointers he attempted, but he was phenomenal defensively, he grabbed five rebounds, and he dished out a career-high 10 assists. He really showed off his high basketball IQ and was able to make a big impact for Philadelphia in a number of ways. As mentioned plenty of times, every team needs a Dean Wade. He just does so much on the basketball court to help a team win and his presence is going to be felt in games such as this one.